CoS Sequel
by metalelricbros
Summary: With Grace and Elicia killed in WW2, heartbroken Hughes takes up the Elric brothers proposition to be with them again-in another world. Leave a review with comments are advice if you can ! :) Have a second chapter posted in a few days.
1. Chapter 1

_ I've had this sitting in my folder for a really long time, and thought it was time to publish it ahah , it's not my best work, but after the bad ending of CoS, I wanted a continuation so I made my own :) _

_***Note: This is meant to be WWII, but clearly it's only a few years after the brothers came to the human world, dont pay attention to historical facts, okay? It'll be so much more enjoyable :) I guess if you _want_ an age, you can say that Ed is about 21 and Al is 20 :) Enjoy! I'll also be adding the next chapter in a few dayss _

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The smoke cleared and the sun shone through, finally bringing warmth to after the long winter. The battle may be over, but everything was transformed into a barren wasteland, destroyed and tainted with blood. Alphonse Elric dropped his rifle on the ground and stared at his shaking hands.

"How could we do this, Brother?" Alphonse asked, his voice trembling. "How could we fail?"

Edward refused to respond to the pain he heard in his younger brother's voice, he tried to block out what Al said, but how was that possible when his mind was repeating the same thought? They failed to stop the bomb from being set off in this world and they failed to destroy the portal. There wasn't any point for them to have returned to this world, when everything and everyone they love is there. Edward's body shook and a tear escaped his eye. "I don't Al, I don't know."

The only reason Edward returned to this world was to prevent a genocide such as this from ever happening, but they were powerless to stop what they set in motion so many years ago. Many were killed in the last moments of battle, few were left standing around the Elric brothers.

A cry came from behind them and they both turned to see.

"Gracia! Elicia! God, no! Please!" Officer Hughes was lifting large pieces of rubble off of what must have been the bodies of his wife and daughter. Alphonse's lips trembled as he fell to the ground and he sobbed into his knees. The only person who looked more destroyed then Al was Maees Hughes. Edward put hand on the officers shoulder, and restrained himself from crying even more. The Officer was shaking, his hands scraped and bleeding, but he failed to notice.

"They're gone Hughes," The elder brother whispered. How unjust this war was, taking the lives of the innocent who wanted no part in this, leaving a husband and father behind with nothing at all. "They're gone."

Maees shook his head and kept digging. "No! Not my Gracia and little Elicia!" He kept moving the heavy pieces until the rock he removed revealed a woman's' hand clutching a little girls. Gracia and Elicia.

At that point, Officer Hughes fell apart and held the hands of his dead wife and daughter and cried. Edward wiped his face, which was now stained from tears and threw his gun on the ground in frustration. _How is this fair_? He thought. _How is _this_ equivalent exchange_?

"If you could go back to your family, would you?" Edward hissed before he could stop himself.

Hughes slowly stopped crying and turned to face Edward. The hollow look on the officers face nearly made the older brothers heart drop. Maees wiped his face and with a fierce determination that was absent a moment ago nodded.

"But Colonel Mustang said he would destroy the portal on his side," Alphonse reminded as we approached the building.

Edward broke down the bolted up door and tossed it to the side. "The Colonel also could have destroyed the portal after I first went through, but he the bastard knew I'd come back. Hopefully, he still has that mentality."

"Mustang? Roy Mustang?" Hughes whispered. It was one of the few things he said after finding his family. The emptiness in his voice tore through the brothers. "Him and his wife died, in the war-" Hughes cut himself off to prevent himself from crying again.

So many died in this war, Noah was one of the first to be killed and last month, news reached us that this worlds Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye died in battle and now Gracia and Elicia are gone as well. Is this what Ishval was like in Amestris? Loss, the physical and inner battles just to survive and the nightmares that follow whenever you close your eyes?

We moved through the twists and turns of the building in silence before Al spoke. "Do you really think we can make it back home, brother?" The longing in his voice mirrored his brothers.

Edward nodded. "We have to Al, we've got people waiting for us to get back home."

We reached the room with the portal-where Alfonse Heindrick was killed and with Envy still frozen in place above. No matter how much damage was inflicted, nothing happened. Edward came to the decision that both of the portals in Liore and Central had to be destroyed and then this portal would eventually close forever. This was their only chance.

"Is that…" Hughes whispered in awe as he stared at the glowing light above him.

The brothers nodded and set up one of the planes, the same kind of plane that Edward used to go through the portal first. Although it's been years since Ed used mechanics like this, his time with Alfons had paid three of them strapped themselves into the seats and turned it on. The entire building had been closed off after Ed and Al returned to this world since no one knew how to remove Envy. Ed and Al returned to the portal often, but nothing could damage the matrix drawn on the ceiling. The countdown began: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two-_one_.

"You'll be with your wife soon, we promise," Edward whispered to Hughes right before taking off.

There was doubt in the officer's eyes but he nodded regardless, this was his only chance.


	2. CoS Sequel - Chapter Two

_Here's chapter two :) _

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**Chapter Two **

"Brother? Brother!"

Edward was shaken awake by his younger brother and it took him a moment to realize he was supposed to be piloting an aircraft.

"Brother!" Alphonse repeated.

Edward snapped awake and immediately took in his atmosphere. He grabbed hold of the controls and flew the plane up. "Shit!" He avoided the buildings just in time the cool wind. The plane continued to rise higher into the night sky, while the alarmed people of Liore emerged from their homes to see what the commotion was. Most of the citizens simply gazed up at the strange machinery in the air curiously, but there were several others running around frantically. It was understandable, Liore didn't have a good history when it came to strange and unnatural occurrences. It hadn't quite crossed their minds that this might cause an uproar in the governments security, but Edward was sure Mustang would handle it, there was too much paperwork if he went with the other option.

Edward sat back and allowed his eyes to rest for a moment. Alphonse was with him, and so was Hughes-who was still sleeping, which was for the best at the moment as the brothers didn't really know what to do with him. How were they sure that Hughes would feel the same about this Gracia and Elicia? Hell, they weren't even a hundred percent sure that the Hughes were still alive.

"Edward," His brother breathed. "We made it, we're home."

Edward left his train of thoughts and found himself laughing. "That damn Colonel! He had one job and he couldn't even do it right!"

It didn't take long to for the two to decide where they would go and the sun was just beginning to rise as they landed in Resembool. They landed far enough from the house that the noise wouldn't wake anyone up nearby. With a lot of the effort, the boys carried Hughes to the front of the house and set his body down on the porch. The brothers looked and saw the sign reading 'Resembool Automail', and noticed that nothing had changed, just some a new flowers planted and some furniture rearranged on the parch

"You go in," Alphonse told his brother. "It's you that Winry really wants to see."

Edward didn't argue. He snuck into the house and walked past Granny's bedroom, where the old woman was resting in bed peacefully, he looked in and saw that she hadn't changed at all. Den, their dog, saw Edward and raised its years in confusion but Ed told the dog shush. He reached Winry's room and gently opened the door. Once he was inside he paused. Her angelic face hadn't aged at all over the past few years and his heart began to beat more rapidly the closer he got to her. He reached her bed and knelt down and pushed a strand of her blonde hair from her face.

His breath caught as he remembered that he never got to say goodbye to her, he simply walked out of her life again. Guilt tore through him, but he pushed it back, he didn't have time for regrets, he could only make up for it in the future to come. This time, though, Edward was sure to stay with her, he promised that he would never hurt her that way again.

"Wake up you gearhead." Ed whispered.

Her eyes slowly opened and quickly widened at the sight of him. To his surprise, her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head while repeating 'no' over and over again. The last thing Edward wanted to do was to make Winry cry-unless they were tears of joy, not only that, but he didn't know how to handle these situations very well, he never has.

"Winry-"

"Stop," She interrupted, her voice cracking. "I've had this dream before, I'll blink and you'll be gone."

Edward waited for her eyes to shut before responding. "I'm still here."

She opened her eyes and shook her head again, her stubbornness hadn't appeared to change either.

Without thinking, Edward bent down and kissed her. It was something that he needed to do years ago and still craved for today. She kissed him back and Edward knew that her feelings for him hadn't changed. There was longing in the way her lips moved against his. Once she realized what she was doing, however, she pulled back and covered her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears again, but for a different reason now.

"Dummy!" She yelped as she pulled him closer to him. " Welcome back!"

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**It was rushed so it isnt my greatest piece of work, but was necessary for the story ahah , leave reviews in the bottom to tell me what you think so far : )**

****I'll post the next chapter either tomorrow or friday :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter 3! Sorry it took longer than I thought, I've been working a lot this week and haven't had a lot of time to write! Anyways, some useful info to know to help you follow the chapter better is that Maees is from the 'our' world and that Hughes is from the alchemy world, it's just an easy way to differentiate the two characters :)****_ If you can leave a review at the bottom and tell me what you think of the fic so far, would be very much appreciated ! :]_**

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_Going through the portal was a familiar sensation for the Elric brothers, but everyone experiences it in their own way. Maees Hughes in particular had an interesting journey in his trip to the other side…_

Maes Hughes has been in his gateway for several years, patiently waiting to be reunited with his loved ones. As much as he desired to be with his family and friends, to see them so soon after his own death could only mean one thing-that they had died as well, and when Hughes saw his gateway begin to open he panicked. He wasn't ready for any of his loved ones to join him; they haven't had the chance to live their lives to the fullest yet. However, to his surprise, the person he saw enter his portal, was none other, than himself.

A blinding light flashed and the distraught Maes Hughes that had been travelling with the Elric's, found himself in a brightly lit room-only, he couldn't see where the lights were lit or see any walls or ceilings. He took a few steps forward when he noticed two shadowy figures ahead. He ran towards them, but with each step he took the figures began to appear more and more distant. Maes collapsed on the ground and tried to hold back his tears_. I'll never be with them again,_ He thought panicking, his body shaking violently. _I'll never to get to hold them again, or even say goodbye_.

The already dead Hughes thought it was best to go and see what was happening. This type of situation doesn't occur often and he wouldn't mind some form of entertainment to help the time pass by. He took a few steps toward his depressed other self and bent down to take a good look at him. _Yeah, this guy definitely needs some cheering up_, He decided immediately.

"Look at this picture," Hughese cooed as he took out the photograph of him, Gracia and Elicia from his pocket. He's always kept this picture with him, even when he was alive it was always in the pocket-he needed to make sure he had some part of his family to show his friends whenever they were around.

Confused, Maes looked over but his mood fell even further and he began to sob into his hands.

Hughes sat back and scratched his chin. _Wasn't expecting that reaction_, He thought, these pictures always seemed to put people in a better mood-unless it was Roy or the Elric Shrimp, he only showed them pictures of his family because it put _him_ in a better mood.

"My Gracia and Elicia," The man finally croaked out, then raw pain in his voice evident.

Hughes attention snapped back on the man. "What did you say?" He asked sharply.

The man looked up at him even more confused as he saw who he was speaking to. His eyes were red and bloodshot from crying and he looked as though he barely had any strength left. "My Gracia and Elicia…they're gone…" Hughes eyes softened with understanding. _He's me from the other side of the portal, _He thought to himself quietly. Maes voice was quivering along with his body. "Am I dead? Why can't I be with them?" He was no longer looking at Hughes, but looking past him.

Hughes didn't quite understand what he meant but when he went to put a comforting hand on his shoulder it passed right through him. The other Hughes looked horrified, for him, this was confirmation that he was dead, but for Hughes this was assurance that his other self was alive.

"You're not dead," Hughes reassured as he tried to give him a comforting smile.

"But my Gracia and Elicia," The other Hughes sobbed. "I can see them, but why can't I reach them? Why?"

Confused, Hughes looked back and he didn't exactly see two figures, but there was a light that wasn't there before. "Do you see your wife and daughter?"

After a moment of hesitation, the other man nodded solemnly. "Yes."

Hughes scratched his chin again, this was rather problematic. He didn't understand how this man got here or where he would go afterwards, but he knew the man was gone, he had nothing left to live for. _Everything that he loves is here, but everything that I love is _there, Hughes thought numbly. His breath caught as he felt something he had never felt before-warmth. Ever since entering the gateway, Hughes has never been able to feel anything, not even the cold. He suddenly had an idea, and with his knowledge of the gateway, he had a plan.

"Would you like to switch places?" He brought up gently, this wasn't going to be an easy things to explain to the already rattled man.

Maes looked up at him confused. _Switch places? What was I-_this_ guy-talking about? _

"I know it's confusing, but I know for a fact that it's possible for the two of us to switch places, this way you can go be with your family and I can return to mine."

"How? There's no way that's possible," Maes murmured, but even he couldn't deny the hopeful tone he heard in his voice.

"I understand that it sounds a little farfetched for you, but from where I'm from, it's not necessarily 'normal', but it's not the strangest thing that's happened either," Hughes commented lightly with a laugh at the end.

"You sound like the Elric's," Maes muttered under his breath. _Those two were always telling stories of the impossible whenever they had the chance._

Hughes eyes lightened in surprise. He missed those boys as well; they always did manage to brighten his mood, however, he was confused as to how they knew stories of his world. "They are rather imaginative kids, but it's true."

He paused and looked up at him again, but this time he had a more determined expression on his face. "And you're sure that it'll work?"

Hughes nodded, his heart beating rapidly-something else he hasn't felt in years. "I'm positive." He helped Maes up, who was now looking at the strange light with eager eyes. Both of them would be in a better place soon enough. "Now, just close your eyes, don't fight this, okay? It might hurt a little."

He nodded, but there was a slight hesitation. Hughes, however, was wrong. This wasn't hurting his other self, it was hurting him, and it hurt _a lot_. Hughes fell to the ground in pain and held his head, as if he were trying to keep himself in one piece. _I suppose it is more painful to live then to be dead_, He though bitterly. Hughes then thought of his living wife and daughter and decided that the pain was worth it. Soon it all faded and he fell to the ground in relief, the pain beginning to fade-but he was beginning to fade as well. With a small ounce of strength, he managed to open his eyes in time to see the other Hughes embracing his family. Maees looked over at Hughes and Hughes could just manage to make out the small 'thank you' he told him.

Hughes managed to give a small smile before his world went black.

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**I thought it was interesting chapter, even if it was a little rushed. I know that the chapter was a little hard to follow and some of the stuff doesnt really make sense, but EVERYTHING will be explained in the next chapter, and I swear that you wont be left confused ! - hopefully. Leave a review at the bottom :)**


	4. Chapter 4

I am SO sorry it took so long to get this out! I was working graves for the entire winter break and since then it's all been about homework, isu's and finishing up my uni applications! Anyways, here's chapter four, it's kind of rushed and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I dont think it's too bad :) I'm doing one more chapter for this and it'll be a month after they got back :]

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"Why did you invite us over?" Gracia asked Winry kindly as her and Elicia sat down along with Roy and Riza.

"Yeah, big sis, why did you?" Elicia included enthusiastically.

Winry chuckled and filled a cup of tea for each of the adults to go with the apple pie she made. "I have a surprise for you all."

"I may know something about that," Mustang said smugly. He removed his gloves and set them on the table. "Two nights ago, there was an occurrence in Liore where an unidentified aircraft emerged from the ground. Hawkeye and I have come to the conclusion that-"

"What did you not get when Winry said 'surprise'," Edward commented dryly as he came around the corner, there wasn't really a point in him hiding anymore if the Colonel was just going to ruin it. Alphonse came out as well and Gracia covered her mouth as her eyes widened. She wiped away a tear and embraced the two lost brothers. The boys were surprised for a moment, but relaxed. They hadn't expected that Gracia would miss them as much as she did.

"I thought I'd never see you two again." She whispered. She smelled the same and even looked the same-besides the creases that had begun to develop around her eyes over the years.

"Can't get rid of us that easily," Edward joked, although the uneasy tone in his voice noted that he felt the same way and pulled her in tighter.

Elicia pulled on her mother's skirt to get her attention. Her mom looked down at her with a smile. "What is it sweetie?"

"Who are these boys?" The little girl whispered to her mom nervously. She hid behind her mother's skirt and snuck careful glances towards the brothers.

"They're Edward and Alphonse, remember? You used to play with them when you were little," her mother explained.

The little girls smile grew gradually as she remembered the boys. "I remember! Mommy told me you were gone! Did you see Daddy while you were gone? Did you bring him back with you?

The excited tone in Elicia's voice seemed to make Gracia's happy mood vanish as quickly as it had come. "Elicia…"

"Actually, I do have a surprise for you," Edward whispered to the little girl. Elicia clapped her hands excitedly and looked at Edward eagerly.

Footsteps came from behind the wall and the confused faces looked up at the doorway and were shocked to silence to see the familiar face of Maees Hughes. For a moment no one moved- but Elicia quickly broke away from her mother and threw herself into her father's arms.

"Papa! Where have you been?" She cried happily as Hughes held her tight.

"Don't worry princess, daddy's home," The officer cooed. When it came to his daughter, Hughes will always be the same, no amount of time away from his family can change that.

"Maees?" Gracia whispered quietly as she stepped forward. "Is that really you?"

Hughes set her daughter down and stared at his wife and nodded. It was as if they were the only two in the room now. "I'm sorry Gracia." He pulled his wife towards him and held her close. Gracia's body shook as she cried into her husband's shoulder and Hughes just stroked her hair as his tears of his own fell. "I'm home now, you don't have to worry."

"How is this possible?" Roy asked, directing the question toward the brothers to allow Hughes and Gracia to have their moment. "It couldn't be human transmutation-"

"Of course not," Edward scoffed as if her were insulted. "What do you think we are, idiots? Just let Hughes explain it, he can describe it best."

"And that's what happened," Hughes finished.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, pondering this. Roy was the first to speak. "So you were the same soul?"

Hughes nodded. "I sensed it when he entered, but the more I was around him, the more alive I began to feel, and I knew." He chuckled to himself. "I sound crazy don't I?"

Roy ignored his side comment. "And then you transmuted your mind in his, and his mind in yours?"

Hughes nodded again.

Roy looked at his friend, surprised. "How could you manage that? You were never an alchemist before and you never showed any interest in it either."

Hughes laughed again. "I wasn't an alchemist because I didn't understand how that form of science worked, but when you die, you pass through the gateway and that knowledge is given to you."

There was a moment of silence, similar to the ones the boys experienced when they first heard this. Gracia hugged her husband and leaned in closer towards him.

"So you're just as Alphonse was," Roy muttered. "A soul attached to a body."

"Don't insult me," Hughes huffed. "I'm the same person in the same body. This body literally has the same scars that I had, it's an exact reflection of mine. This body won't reject me, because it's still the same soul. All I did was transfer our minds."

"That's amazing," Riza whispered, but was still smiling. She always was a beautiful woman, even if she didn't see it, Roy saw it for her. "You truly are an incredible man Hughes."

"Yay! Daddy's amazing! Daddy's incredible!" Elicia sang. "Daddy's home!"

Roy stood up and gave Hughes a fierce look, startling the people seated next to him. "I understand that you have only just arrived back, but I have a proposition for you."

"Whatcha' need Roy?" Hughes asked with a crooked smile.

Roy smiled to himself, he missed hearing his friend's voice more than ever, but he wouldn't let anyone know that. Roy was nothing if not professional-well, when he chose to be. "I'm undergoing a dangerous assignment Hughes and I need your guidance, I'm afraid the lieutenants may be not be enough."

Everyone in the room looked confused including Riza-but only for a moment. Her cheeks flamed before she turned her face towards the floor to avoid our gazes. Even the colonel looked choked up for a moment. Everyone looked back towards the colonel and lieutenant, trying to understand what was happening. It was rare for one of them to be too choked up for words-but both of them? That's unheard of. Hughes looked at his Roy and Riza's expression and then erupted with laughter; it was a sound that they hadn't heard for years. Hughes slapped his friend on the back and put his arm around him like old times.

"Well, it's about time Roy! I didn't think you'd ever settle down!" Hughes laughed. He pulled Roy closer so he could whisper in his ear. "It was the eye patch wasn't it? Must have been a real lady killer when you first got it."

Roy pushed away from his friend and wiped his arms. He looked as though he were about to insult Hughes but smiled and decided against it. "You're lucky you just came back from the dead," The Flame Alchemist muttered.

"What's going on?" Edward interrupted. Although he prized himself on being the youngest state alchemist in history, he was rather oblivious at times.

"Don't you see you, Ed? Roy's getting married!" Hughes exclaimed. He looked over and winked in the lieutenant's direction. "And to Hawkeye no doubt."

Riza went an even brighter shade of red and slid further down in her seat, trying to avoid us.

"The colonel?" Edward asked in disbelief. He looked to Riza. "You agreed to marry _him_?"

"Hey, that's brigadier general and future leader of this country to you!" Mustang retorted.

The two alchemists glared at each other and waited for the first one to look away. With no sign of victor, Hughes intervened. "So what do you need Roy, I'm sure that there's more to this then just telling me about your wedding."

He averted his gaze and Ed laughed in the background. Roy appeared to be sputtering but took a breath and calmed himself. "How would you like to be my best man? I've already offered it to Havoc, but I'm sure that he'll sacrifice it for you."

Hughes looked taken aback for a moment but then give his friend a genuine smile. "Well if Havoc is okay with it, I'll be honored."

Roy smiled and pulled his friend in for a brotherly hug. He turned his face towards the floor and allowed one tear to slip his eyes. He promised himself that he would never have to cry over Hughes again.

"Aw, is the colonel crying?" Edward chimed in a baby voice after peaking down to look at the tear streaked face. Edward only had to time to widen his eyes in surprise when he barely managed to jump out of the passing flames path.

"What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?!" Edward shouted from the floor.

"If I'm lucky," Roy muttered under his breath.

Although it's been years, instinct made him clap his hands together and slam on the wooden floor. "I HEARD THAT!" Edward shouted irritably as wooden spikes were sent towards the colonels face.

Standing at the side of the room, Alphonse shook his head and sighed. "Brother never does change, does he?"

Gracia tried to look worried, but a small smile played on her face and protested against her attention. "No, but that's not always a bad thing." Her eyes shifted towards her husband and her smile grew.

Ed and the Colonel continued to argue until a wrench struck Ed in the head-knocking him out cold-and a bullet flew by Roy's face and out the open window, clipping off a strand of hair.

"Brother!" Alphonse shouted as he helped Edward up who was looking at Winry with terrified eyes.

"Edward, I am not letting you get in a fight and already break the arm and leg and I worked so hard to upgrade this morning!" Winry snapped and threatened to throw another wrench in his direction.

At the same time, Roy slowly turned his head to face his soon-to-be-wife with wide eyes. He was lucky that his lieutenant never missed the target-or was he?

"Colonel, quit acting like a brat," She snapped. "You're not twenty-nine anymore!"

Over the years, the Colonel began to fear getting old-or more specifically, he feared getting grey hair and wrinkles. The colonels face fell and he walked into a corner and bent his head down in shame.

Hughes, Gracia and Elicia were all standing at the side, watching his two groups of friends argue. Elicia scowled and looked up at her father. "Daddy, why are they so loud?"

"They've always been like that pumpkin," Hughes chuckled as he tickled her chin. "Don't worry you'll probably be in those arguments with them soon enough."

Gracia bumped him gently and laughed. "Don't encourage her Maes."

He smiled but didn't say anything.

Hughes looked over and saw Edward cowering on the floor from what he knew would be his future wife, and Alphonse giving her a nervous smile trying to calm her down. Hughes laughed quietly to himself and closed his eyes. He decided he would count to three and if he were still here, than he would accept this miracle and continue on living. _One_. He wanted to stay alive, he wanted it more than anything. _Two_. He missed all of his friends and family so much, he can't get that taken away. _Three_. I need them more than they need me. He took a breath and opened his eyes, his prayers finally answers.

Maes Hughes had finally returned home.

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One more chapter to go for this story :) I'm also starting a oneshot for fma, where riza has the colonels gloves on lockdown and she decides to try them out ;) I hope to get that one up soon so stay tuned ! :]


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